The REAL reason ECRP is in it's current state. (Opinion Piece)

[Bala]

I don't agree with everything, but I agree with enough of it.

Regarding the Exhibit A on your Law Enforcement part, I think that for the most part we do get it right but I think there are definitely times where we've let ourselves down and also, there have been some instances of that behaviour that have been legitimate and I can understand why people feel frustrated and then feel like that is simply how we always do things or that every individual in GND or even in PD behaves like that. We and they dont, but that doesn't really matter does it? There's no smoke without fire.

Regarding the Exhibit B on K9, I think most people, even in Law Enforcement would like for K9 to be scripted and scripted in such a way that there would be a reasonable chance that the crim could get away. Right now, having a 100% strike rate on that because it's an OOC offence to lie in /do, the second the dog shows up you're cooked. Some people in PD really enjoy that roleplay and honestly, if we're talking about finding more ways of RP, it's an interesting method. What it should not be, is what it is, the equivalent of landing on "GO TO JAIL, DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200" on a monopoly board. This was on my thread of suggestions from back in July.

Regarding your comments about Staff Incompetence, it's a difficult subject to actually talk about. Because, just like people outside of PD make assumptions about how/why PD do things, I'm not a staff member and I'm not in faction management so to an extent, I have no idea to the thought processes or conversations, I can only form an opinion based on what happens to be the outcome. That being said, I said in a thread a few weeks ago, I think the staff team should be split in two.

There are people in the staff team, whether support/mods/admins that are genuinely really helpful and social and do really well on the community side of things but when it comes to making actual difficult decisions, I can't say I trust them to make them. Because the focus is sometimes more on something being popular than correct. 

By that same extension, there are people that are great with the rules, can make the difficult decisions without blinking but have the personality of a paper bag when it comes to the social aspect and helping.

I feel like LFM/FM has a really tough job, because we all like to bitch a lot but if I'm being honest, they're part of the problem because they've made themselves too important in the whole faction process. They also have split agendas, split personalities and split teams. I've been pestering @Lewis to merge them for ages now, because how are you supposed to resolve legal/illegal conflicts when you're not even all on the same page about how to do so?

LFM/FM shouldn't be judge, jury and executioner anymore. It should be repurposed to help support the factions to get what they need to be the best versions of themselves and get the most out of their time here. Leave the bollocking to the senior+ admin team which is perhaps a more well rounded group of experienced administrators.

Regarding the report culture, a wise friend once suggested to me that only cheating and bug abuse reports should be dealt with in-game and I feel like they are right. Game reports should be solely on the forums, so you aren't waiting around for a decision and also, for people to think twice whether the report they are putting in needs to be one.

I think this server really lost something when The Girlies faction decided to leave the server. Forget that it's a faction of females for a minute and consider what that faction actually was and what it represented. It was something different, which in 2025, when all the gangs are essentially the same. There was a diversity to the roleplay with those girls, whether it was the social element of events or the arguments/beefs that they had. If we get into numbers, they had them as well. I think the mishandling of that faction and the circumstances that lead to them giving up, that is indicative of some of the issues the server faces. Plus, I can't lie, I miss hearing Hayden and Lola at +50 decibels yelling and screaming, the server seems quieter and greyer without them.

Something I would like to point out for the illegals/criminals thoug, is that in PD, we've recently opened direct lines of dialogue with all the illegal factions to be able to talk out the issues that we have between us and try and find agreeable solutions to those issues, on both sides. We don't really talk to one another in this community, we tend to talk at each other.

Finally, what I will say is that, whether we choose to or whether we can, the simple fact is that we all rely on one another working towards similar goals to make this shit run. Developers can put out roadmaps and patches but ultimately, probably more importantly, it's how the community that is run that is the defining factor for this server or any server for that matter. There are a bunch of FiveM servers that have better scripts than us but they flounder because they have poorly run communities. 

I feel like the administrators, even the executive administrators like Lewis, @Osborn and @Dqniel need to find the confidence to feel like they can take action when they see things going sideways. That isn't just asking the devs for more script support but also, holding the staff team responsible and making decisive decisions for the betterment of the community. The three of them are all lovely lads but you have the top spots for a reason. You gotta get your fucking hands around this thing, start pushing people.

For me, we've all gotten so fucking selfish and self-centred. It's all about what benefits us, our friends or our faction as opposed to what matters most, Eclipse. Criminals start leaning into those bad FiveM behaviours and evitably, the cops start leaning that way too. 

As for this thread, thank you for making such a well thought out and intelligent post. I'm so sick of being in the minority of people trying to do shit or saying the actual things that need to be said, rather than just obsessing over nerfing PD because they think it'll make their game better to make other people's games shit. 

This isn't a development problem, it's cultural problem.

THATS MY FUCKING NUMBER 9, WOLTEMARKSY

 

Edited October 30, 2025 by Bala

[Eliza]

2 minutes ago, AtlasOLimbo said:

I beg to differ on this. We have different K9s we use for different things. A gun K9 will not be able to smell drugs, a drug K9 won't be able to smell guns. The concept of detection K9s is pulled directly from real life where they are used to great effect and are not typically hindered by things like a bag or clothing. Firearm K9s in specific are trained to recognize gunpowder and chemicals used in the manufacturing/maintenance of guns.

Respectfully I think the point went over your head or I may not have explained it well, somebody roleplaying something that you cannot counterplay is not fair. The animal will always smell what it is trained to search for, no matter the circumstance. You cannot hide it through RP because it would require approved altRP. If you lie, you catch a nonRP punishment, and even if you tell the truth you often get asked to OOC check.

 I do understand there’s a lot of roleplay that goes into this RP and the training is intensive, but I still think there’s just nothing you can do about it. If you comply it’s an arrest, if you evade it’s an arrest if it’s daytime

[AtlasOLimbo]

3 minutes ago, Eliza said:

Respectfully I think the point went over your head or I may not have explained it well, somebody roleplaying something that you cannot counterplay is not fair. The animal will always smell what it is trained to search for, no matter the circumstance. You cannot hide it through RP because it would require approved altRP. If you lie, you catch a nonRP punishment, and even if you tell the truth you often get asked to OOC check.

 I do understand there’s a lot of roleplay that goes into this RP and the training is intensive, but I still think there’s just nothing you can do about it. If you comply it’s an arrest, if you evade it’s an arrest if it’s daytime

I feel like this will easily de-rail the thread but I also don't want to leave this hanging. I think both sides are aware there is some issue with the K9 process as-is, especially as Bala stated above. What that issue is necessarily may not be agreed upon but there is room to improve.

This is not to put the entire onus on the criminal in these scenarios, but you should understand whenever you are roaming with a firearm in your vehicle, especially as a 'person of interest' (gang affiliated, recent murder of gov., etc.) you should expect a K9 deployment to be a very real possibility, maybe even get that AltRP. (which I understand is not plausible daily.)

That's my piece.

[Toxine]

Thank you for finally voicing what 99% of the community has been thinking but hasn’t dared to say. Most people stay silent because every Staff member is forced to publicly deny these concerns, and when someone on the outside dares to speak up, their messages or posts mysteriously disappear.

Even the few Staff members who privately agree with all this won’t acknowledge it publicly — because, clearly, there’s some sort of unspoken rule or fear among them. It feels like there’s this quiet understanding of “I can’t say that or I’ll lose my position.” And when people are being silenced, directly or indirectly, that’s a strong indication that something is deeply wrong at the top.

I don’t know the exact names or who holds which responsibilities, but it’s pretty clear this issue doesn’t come from just one person — and definitely not from lower-ranked Staff.

If all the criticism that’s been pouring in about the server’s current state and how the Staff operates still doesn’t make you reflect for even five minutes and recognize your own shortcomings, then I honestly don’t understand how you’re still in your position. A good leader knows when they’ve failed and when it’s time to let more capable people take over. Unfortunately, some of the current Staff seem too emotionally fragile or immature to handle that kind of accountability.

Many of you appear completely disconnected from what’s actually happening in-game. If real life limits your ability to stay involved and active, then step down and let others who still have the motivation and time to contribute take your place. A true leadership figure knows when to pass the torch.

On top of that, the current report system is absurd. The level of leniency and inconsistency in handling reports is discouraging. I’ve personally found myself hesitating during RP situations, constantly second-guessing every move because of how restrictive and unpredictable the rules are enforced. It feels like one small slip-up could lead to a report, followed by writing essays on the forums and waiting days for a verdict that depends on whoever happens to review it.

Reports should only exist for blatant and serious rule violations. Everything else should be dealt with in-game, on the spot. Yet out of every 100 reports, maybe 20 get accepted — and that’s if an admin is even available or willing to handle them. Whether it’s because they’re busy IC or showing favoritism, it all points to a major flaw in how things are being run.

That said, I’ll give credit where it’s due — since the recent leadership change in PD/SD, there have been a few positive steps forward. It’s still far from ideal, but at least it’s some progress in the right direction.

But the biggest culprits for the decline of crim isn't PD. It's FM itself. 

1. The spray-tagging system has been devastating for the server’s balance, and nobody is owning that mistake. The moment you introduced tags that permanently secure turfs, you removed the value and purpose of roughly 80% of the gangs. Historically, larger gangs negotiated with smaller crews over packed cash, drugs, chops, territory deals, and trade; those interactions created real RP. Now you just spray five tags and slowly increase influence without negotiation or conflict. The spray tag mechanic killed whole avenues of RP and any incentive for inter-gang diplomacy.
    
2. The tier system is broken and inconsistently applied. Using my faction as a neutral example: we appear in about half of the reports filed against groups, and inevitably one or two of those will be accepted - not necessarily because of clear wrongdoing, but because different admins interpret rules differently. This subjective enforcement prevents factions from progressing in tiers and has even led to demotions. Right now only two factions are active on a daily basis and providing the bulk of RP for PD/SD/EMS/Mechanics. Yet the governing body is penalizing the very groups keeping the server alive. Most forum reports are nothing more than report-wars stemming from IC/OOC tensions; they’re petty, not game-breaking. By treating every report like a capital offense, you’re discouraging the last dedicated players. Two years ago the server routinely had 200+ players; today, there are about ~100 online. Ask yourselves whether your current policy is helping or hurting player retention.
    
3. There is an alarming lack of support for illegal factions — the people who are literally the core of your server’s identity. There are zero illegal-only events, no exclusive features, no faction-specific rewards, and no meaningful incentives for players who spend hours in DOC to provide RP to LEO's or on criminal gameplay. Everything criminals do can be replicated by LEOs or civilians: drugs, weapons, vehicles, labs, planting, you name it. If criminal play offers no unique benefits, what prevents everyone from just becoming cops or civilians? How long do you expect the server to stay interesting with that design?
    
4. Membership caps on illegal factions are counterproductive and outdated. This is not 2021 with 500 concurrent players; player numbers are low, and strict member limits fragment the already-small player pool into dozens of ineffective groups. You have roughly 18 illegal factions but only 2–4 are active consistently. Caps force people into tiny gangs that never reach critical mass, instead of consolidating players into a few strong factions that drive meaningful RP. Currently, there's about 352 players in illegal factions spread across 18 groups; an average of 19 per faction. Wouldn’t 5 factions with 60–70 members each create far more impact and more consistent RP than what we have now?Instead of people logging in and typing "/fmembers 0", just to see "There are currently 2 players in your faction online", they could be seeing 30/40 people online, allowing them to indulge into more RP scenarios with their peers?
    
5. The ever-growing list of PvP restrictions is suffocating gameplay. The majority of criminal players enjoy PvP; it’s a core part of the experience. If PvP makes you uncomfortable, don’t pretend to set rules for people who actually play that way. There’s a big difference between regulated PvP/DM and outright RDM, and the staff should understand that. You can’t forbid a shooter from defending their turf or engaging a rival at a lab; if you walk into high-risk areas like labs, expect conflict. Regulate PvP sensibly, admit that crim-centered PvP is part of the game, and stop making rules that only hurt the combat side of roleplay.

Me, and a few others have been available to provide a substantial amount of suggestions when it comes to rules and mechanics, but there's a total disinterest from Staff to ask their playerbase for help and ideas. And no, the suggestions on the forums is not it. As stuff like this needs to be discussed in a real-time chat (Discord, Zoom, etc..). And I'm not saying that Staff should come to me. But at least involve people that are actually active IC every day.

[ArcAngel]

5 minutes ago, Toxine said:

because, clearly, there’s some sort of unspoken rule or fear among them. It feels like there’s this quiet understanding of “I can’t say that or I’ll lose my position.” And when people are being silenced, directly or indirectly, that’s a strong indication that something is deeply wrong at the top.

I don’t know the exact names or who holds which responsibilities, but it’s pretty clear this issue doesn’t come from just one person — and definitely not from lower-ranked Staff.

Hey!

This isn't true, i think the stark difference is we have different forums/avenues to voice our concerns and discuss it internally. 90% of the points Marksy has made are in-line with discussions that are being had behind the scenes, because we agree, changes need to be made. Also, I think from past experience, as staff we like to moreso review these sorts of threads rather than contribute, not because of fear of retribution, but moreso to allow community members to feel they have the floor/space to discuss things and unfortunately some past dicussions have taken a turn away from constructive critisism. We are always told as staff members that we are absolutely welcome to have a respectful opinion and provide constructive criticism where it's warranted.

Additionally, with regards to K9 RP, this is being addressed by developers and they are reviewing the best way to improve this. Whether this be a GSR script, etc who knows, but it is absolutely on their radar.

[Bakmeel]

I think a lot of points in the original post are valid, some points could benefit from additional context.
 

The community should know that they can always voice their opinions in threads like this without being removed or punished, as long as they remain respectful.

[Earl Mud]

8 minutes ago, Toxine said:

Thank you for finally voicing what 99% of the community has been thinking but hasn’t dared to say. Most people stay silent because every Staff member is forced to publicly deny these concerns, and when someone on the outside dares to speak up, their messages or posts mysteriously disappear.

Even the few Staff members who privately agree with all this won’t acknowledge it publicly — because, clearly, there’s some sort of unspoken rule or fear among them. It feels like there’s this quiet understanding of “I can’t say that or I’ll lose my position.” And when people are being silenced, directly or indirectly, that’s a strong indication that something is deeply wrong at the top.

I don’t know the exact names or who holds which responsibilities, but it’s pretty clear this issue doesn’t come from just one person — and definitely not from lower-ranked Staff.

If all the criticism that’s been pouring in about the server’s current state and how the Staff operates still doesn’t make you reflect for even five minutes and recognize your own shortcomings, then I honestly don’t understand how you’re still in your position. A good leader knows when they’ve failed and when it’s time to let more capable people take over. Unfortunately, some of the current Staff seem too emotionally fragile or immature to handle that kind of accountability.

Many of you appear completely disconnected from what’s actually happening in-game. If real life limits your ability to stay involved and active, then step down and let others who still have the motivation and time to contribute take your place. A true leadership figure knows when to pass the torch.

On top of that, the current report system is absurd. The level of leniency and inconsistency in handling reports is discouraging. I’ve personally found myself hesitating during RP situations, constantly second-guessing every move because of how restrictive and unpredictable the rules are enforced. It feels like one small slip-up could lead to a report, followed by writing essays on the forums and waiting days for a verdict that depends on whoever happens to review it.

Reports should only exist for blatant and serious rule violations. Everything else should be dealt with in-game, on the spot. Yet out of every 100 reports, maybe 20 get accepted — and that’s if an admin is even available or willing to handle them. Whether it’s because they’re busy IC or showing favoritism, it all points to a major flaw in how things are being run.

That said, I’ll give credit where it’s due — since the recent leadership change in PD/SD, there have been a few positive steps forward. It’s still far from ideal, but at least it’s some progress in the right direction.

But the biggest culprits for the decline of crim isn't PD. It's FM itself. 

1. The spray-tagging system has been devastating for the server’s balance, and nobody is owning that mistake. The moment you introduced tags that permanently secure turfs, you removed the value and purpose of roughly 80% of the gangs. Historically, larger gangs negotiated with smaller crews over packed cash, drugs, chops, territory deals, and trade; those interactions created real RP. Now you just spray five tags and slowly increase influence without negotiation or conflict. The spray tag mechanic killed whole avenues of RP and any incentive for inter-gang diplomacy.
    
2. The tier system is broken and inconsistently applied. Using my faction as a neutral example: we appear in about half of the reports filed against groups, and inevitably one or two of those will be accepted - not necessarily because of clear wrongdoing, but because different admins interpret rules differently. This subjective enforcement prevents factions from progressing in tiers and has even led to demotions. Right now only two factions are active on a daily basis and providing the bulk of RP for PD/SD/EMS/Mechanics. Yet the governing body is penalizing the very groups keeping the server alive. Most forum reports are nothing more than report-wars stemming from IC/OOC tensions; they’re petty, not game-breaking. By treating every report like a capital offense, you’re discouraging the last dedicated players. Two years ago the server routinely had 200+ players; today, there are about ~100 online. Ask yourselves whether your current policy is helping or hurting player retention.
    
3. There is an alarming lack of support for illegal factions — the people who are literally the core of your server’s identity. There are zero illegal-only events, no exclusive features, no faction-specific rewards, and no meaningful incentives for players who spend hours in DOC to provide RP to LEO's or on criminal gameplay. Everything criminals do can be replicated by LEOs or civilians: drugs, weapons, vehicles, labs, planting, you name it. If criminal play offers no unique benefits, what prevents everyone from just becoming cops or civilians? How long do you expect the server to stay interesting with that design?
    
4. Membership caps on illegal factions are counterproductive and outdated. This is not 2021 with 500 concurrent players; player numbers are low, and strict member limits fragment the already-small player pool into dozens of ineffective groups. You have roughly 18 illegal factions but only 2–4 are active consistently. Caps force people into tiny gangs that never reach critical mass, instead of consolidating players into a few strong factions that drive meaningful RP. Currently, there's about 352 players in illegal factions spread across 18 groups; an average of 19 per faction. Wouldn’t 5 factions with 60–70 members each create far more impact and more consistent RP than what we have now?Instead of people logging in and typing "/fmembers 0", just to see "There are currently 2 players in your faction online", they could be seeing 30/40 people online, allowing them to indulge into more RP scenarios with their peers?
    
5. The ever-growing list of PvP restrictions is suffocating gameplay. The majority of criminal players enjoy PvP; it’s a core part of the experience. If PvP makes you uncomfortable, don’t pretend to set rules for people who actually play that way. There’s a big difference between regulated PvP/DM and outright RDM, and the staff should understand that. You can’t forbid a shooter from defending their turf or engaging a rival at a lab; if you walk into high-risk areas like labs, expect conflict. Regulate PvP sensibly, admit that crim-centered PvP is part of the game, and stop making rules that only hurt the combat side of roleplay.

Me, and a few others have been available to provide a substantial amount of suggestions when it comes to rules and mechanics, but there's a total disinterest from Staff to ask their playerbase for help and ideas. And no, the suggestions on the forums is not it. As stuff like this needs to be discussed in a real-time chat (Discord, Zoom, etc..). And I'm not saying that Staff should come to me. But at least involve people that are actually active IC every day.

Literally one of the biggest reasons I do not pvp very rarely. In real life gang situations 1 sec delay means death. If a rival gang shows up to an illegal place and its being held there shouldn't be a checklist. Whoever figures they have the checklist first shoots first gaining a massive fight advantage. As someone who prefers strategy its hard to conduct anything fight wise. Some of the escalation needs to be let go in certain areas. I dont mean no escalation but this holding a lab and you see /s hands or die outside a lab without them knowing who or how many are in the lab just so they can mark off the checklist is a behavior created by the current system.  

[AtlasOLimbo]

2 minutes ago, Earl Mud said:

Literally one of the biggest reasons I do not pvp very rarely. In real life gang situations 1 sec delay means death. If a rival gang shows up to an illegal place and its being held there shouldn't be a checklist. Whoever figures they have the checklist first shoots first gaining a massive fight advantage. As someone who prefers strategy its hard to conduct anything fight wise. Some of the escalation needs to be let go in certain areas. I dont mean no escalation but this holding a lab and you see /s hands or die outside a lab without them knowing who or how many are in the lab just so they can mark off the checklist is a behavior created by the current system.  

As someone who follows an IC policy/force continuum which should in theory prevent me from deathmatching currently but has experienced this checklist behavior in the past as a crim, have the changes to rules helped at all? Made things worse, better, same? I'm curious and I'm sure the senior administration watching this thread may be curious as well.

[Dred]

40 minutes ago, AtlasOLimbo said:

I beg to differ on this. We have different K9s we use for different things. A gun K9 will not be able to smell drugs, a drug K9 won't be able to smell guns. The concept of detection K9s is pulled directly from real life where they are used to great effect and are not typically hindered by things like a bag or clothing. Firearm K9s in specific are trained to recognize gunpowder and chemicals used in the manufacturing/maintenance of guns.

K9s can't be pulled out on anyone although I do agree stricter requirements must be enforced (and are fairly strict as written), and from SD's side are actively being worked on.

Would it be nice to have a proper script, that ensures fair play on both sides and maybe offers false detections or a lack of detection once in a blue moon? Sure. But I can't expect anything of the sort anytime soon. 

Ill beg to differ.. MAYBE ITS CHANGED and god i hope it has and I'm wrong because i quit crim over the dog and GND crap. As a legal and crim and I've reported this to LFM. I've been given and seen "/me takes the dog out" /"do would anything illegal be sniffed?" On my crim when she was 7 months clean but had a magical GND file being investigated because they just exist forever. I've also seen on my legal on code 1s.

 

I'm glad you state SDs working on making them stricter and that's hopefully a great step in the direction because the current one doesn't work.

 

In my personal experience I had the handler say "/do would any drugs guns bombs gunpowder or substances be noticed?" when i questioned it in /b of how its possible i was met with "stop b and rp" Literally every single possible thing. In one line. K9s are free power gaming and I don't think I'm alone in that sentiment.

[Earl Mud]

1 minute ago, AtlasOLimbo said:

As someone who follows an IC policy/force continuum which should in theory prevent me from deathmatching currently but has experienced this checklist behavior in the past as a crim, have the changes to rules helped at all? Made things worse, better, same? I'm curious and I'm sure the senior administration watching this thread may be curious as well.

The only change I have experienced personally is the FRP and it has helped a little. The other changes don't do much to the day to day things for crims. Kidnapping changes will be fun once some rp gets setup for it but we only time will tell. 

[Toxine]

15 minutes ago, ArcAngel said:

Hey!

This isn't true, i think the stark difference is we have different forums/avenues to voice our concerns and discuss it internally. 90% of the points Marksy has made are in-line with discussions that are being had behind the scenes, because we agree, changes need to be made. Also, I think from past experience, as staff we like to moreso review these sorts of threads rather than contribute, not because of fear of retribution, but moreso to allow community members to feel they have the floor/space to discuss things and unfortunately some past dicussions have taken a turn away from constructive critisism. We are always told as staff members that we are absolutely welcome to have a respectful opinion and provide constructive criticism where it's warranted.

Additionally, with regards to K9 RP, this is being addressed by developers and they are reviewing the best way to improve this. Whether this be a GSR script, etc who knows, but it is absolutely on their radar.

Respectfully, ArcAngel, that’s simply not accurate. The number of Staff members who have publicly agreed with these issues is extremely small. And it’s quite telling that the few who have spoken up only began doing so recently — after months of growing frustration and public backlash from the player base.

You might be discussing these concerns internally, and that’s fine, but public transparency has been completely absent. The community went weeks, even months, without a single official acknowledgment or announcement addressing these problems. It wasn’t until players repeatedly voiced their frustrations — across forums, Discord, and in-game — that the Staff finally responded. So you could be saying "oh we discussed these things internally" but if you are not saying anything publicly, even going to the extent of silencing people that dared to talk publicly, then it just invalidates everything you have to say afterwards.

If it’s true that the majority of the team agrees with these points, then why stay silent for so long? Why did it take players like Marksy, Player X, Player Y, and Player Z publicly speaking up before anyone from Staff decided to do the same? 

For 99% of the issues at hand above. Why are you waiting for something to become such a nuisance to the community for you to address it? Hasn't everyone complained about the reporting system? Why are you waiting SO long to address it, and when you do address it you're going to be like "oh yeah, we wanted to address it all along". This needs 0 development help. 
Once again, my "you's" are not directed towards you specifically, it's moreso towards the Staff and/or whoever is in charge of that specific aspect.
 

Edited October 30, 2025 by Toxine

[WoodsKW]

+1 to the original post. Really well put together and addresses a lot of concerns for a lot of the remaining player base.

I am glad that a lot of these suggestions are being picked up "behind the scenes" but do fear that for a lot of the players that are no longer active (myself included) that it is too little, too late. Eclipse had a lot going for it and I have tried other servers since but do not enjoy them nearly the same and that's why you had so many people stick around was for the relationships that they created with other players whether it was within their faction or not. The people really made this server feel like home for so many people and it's why so many people spent many hours IC.

Unfortunately the server lost it's way and I think there are many issues that attribute to this, Staff accountability, Toxicity over "winning" in a situation leading the an abused reporting system which I'm sure is a drag on the staff team dealing with the same petty reports, rule playing, lack of transparency to address voiced concerns.

I hope that whatever changes are being made can return Eclipse to it's past and the people that are still committed to it, get the rewards of sticking around and can continue to enjoy the server as it was intended.

[idgafashlee]

5 hours ago, Marksy said:

HOWEVER, although we all like new and shiny things, and lord knows the server has needed some fresh activities and scripts, lack of development to the server really only contributes to about 10% of the problem that has alienated the once loyal player-base. The other 90% of the problem is as follows;

Wonderful post Marksy, I believe you truly touched on what some of the core issues of this server truly are.
The issue isn’t a lack of development, and it never has been. Eclipse culture is (and has been for quite some time) a culture that is anti-fun, toxic, and rooted so deeply in egos and “holier than thou” attitudes that there may be no chance of reconciliation.

I will not deep-dive my reason for leaving eclipse, but you have touched on it in your OP. Despite numerous hopeful attempts to come back to Eclipse and re-immerse myself in a community I once loved, I do not believe this server has the tools or ability to fix what is so deeply broken. 
 

Sometimes you can’t fix what is beyond repair. Change is good. Starting fresh only hurts for a moment but in the long run it’s so rewarding. 

((i’m pro server wipe, but that might not be a conversation some are ready for..))

Edited October 30, 2025 by idgafashlee

[DaMasterSplinter]

Yoo Marksy, you’re a legend.
Some of the topics you mentioned have been bugging me for a while, but because of what I’ve been through in the past, I never really wanted to write something like this.

I want to thank everyone for being respectful so far, and I genuinely hope we can work together to make the server even better.

I was on Crim most of the time but recently switched to  LEO after my group of friends left the server.

I’m not sure how many people will actually read this, but whenever I play on the server, I always remind myself that there’s another person just like me behind that screen. No matter which character I’m playing  whether it’s a troll or an LEO I always try to make sure I don’t ruin someone else’s experience.

Something that wasn’t mentioned in the first post (but Bala pointed out) is that the community makes the server, not the scripts or the rules.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen toxicity being spread around and that’s from both sides, LEO and Crim.
In many situations, I just step back because what I see feels unnecessary and childish.

I understand that some people get their dopamine spikes from the game the validation, the power, the wins  but a community built on that mindset can’t last long.
I’ve seen too many times where gangs fight or kidnap each other and it turns into a back-and-forth of trash talk, trying to see who can push it further before someone breaks a rule.

Even on the LEO side, it happens too often. You catch or injure a player, and instead of keeping it in-character, people start trash-talking  calling them bad or washed  just because they won or made the other person crash.

Examples:

• An LEO dancing and doing a “take the L” after helping injure two gang members.

• Or higher-ups showing up after a chase just to mock a player who crashed, even if that person is struggling mentally or socially.

If we want change, it really has to start with our community’s behavior.
Everyone wants their own fun, but sometimes that means stepping back and letting others have theirs too.

[RJThompson]

This is it right here! i think ECRP has had awhile to make changes and maybe its too late, but then again maybe it aint. maybe some of these changes bring people back to try things out and really enjoy it. 

But im gonna say what everyone else said, your a legend for putting it so perfectly and fully voicing what everyone has been saying and also appreciate the head admins respecting your opinion and not being bias towards it and removing you/your post!

[DoubleA]

@Marksy might be the goat, not sure, but might be… 

a lot of those points are super correct, and I think that from someone who mained PD for years, then mained crim for years, then have gone to more of a 50/50, LEO RP is very fun because you can go into most any situation and just enjoy it, take things off of people, not lose anything, getting money in the meantime that I never use on anything but the casino or a house I never use. 
 

the culture of the server when it comes to MOST(not all) LEOs is log in at the station, clock on, patrol, clock off, log off in the locker room. That’s a problem in itself as well. 
 

while on the crim side, things are just sooo stale. Here’s what happens in the minds of criminals these days: 

•Log on // check freqs // get a kit // roll labs // fight // get 3rd partied by cops(whether at the fight or later) // go to DOC for 3 hours because basically every situation ends in 3 hours now // AFK the time // get out // repeat. 
 

but I don’t want to do that! Okay… 

•Log on // there’s an event! // go to it // /anim dance2 for 2 hours while scrolling your phone the entire time

there’s a large inbalance of money distribution - why is it I cook for 20 minutes and make 45k, after materials it’s probably more around 25-30k, or I can rob a damn bank, and get 30k per person… what?? How does that make sense… alright fine maybe I’ll go chop with my friends. Damn I made 6k for a car that took me 10 minutes! 
 

I hope you don’t get removed and I hope you stay! Even for one of the oldest factions in the server it’s sooo difficult to motivate people, especially when all of us have done everything there is to offer in the server for years. 
 

big ups brother, will 100% miss you if you do go

[raganrogaine]

Bans are also useless because the same people have been punished for the same things over and over again, catch a ban again, make an appeal, and continue doing it. 

[CoolDudeChillin]

I’ve always felt like there are too many cooks in the kitchen and no one steps up to take charge and say, “This is what we’re doing. This is what needs to be done, and these are the steps that we need to take!”

It also feels there's about 15 hoops to jump through to do anything.

Edited October 30, 2025 by CoolDudeChillin

[Mrpyth0n33]

+1 to the OP and big ups to so many valid points in the replies, i have said this many a times in previous post, and ill say it again, iv been here a few years, im a consistant player i no life ecrp its my most played game in the last 5 years, other communities might have better scripts, but iv stayed in ecrp not because of the scripts/ dev aspect but because of the great community that comes with ecrp, recently though player base has declined and players have left and more keep leaving daily, not because of lack of scrupts but because of people, yes certain players made and make other people leave, not a single player has complained recently about scripts and then left, its been people that made people leave, EGO's, TOXICITY, POWERTRIP and just plain ATTITUDES deny it all we want reflect on the individuals that left and keep leaving, even full factions have voiced their concerns and felt ignored,  GIRLIES and OFF GRID to be specific and it breaks my heart, that in a previous post it was stated about OFF GRID "if they left then they didnt belong here, yet in this thread it was stated that GIRLIES was a loss and is missed, i agree girlies are missed, but justbas much ALOT of us miss OFF GRID, im not attacking anyone just pointing out, what seems like bias to who is friends with who and in so many unnoticed scenarios people feel neglected and ignored, ECRP is a community based success and if the community is not longer happy no amount of dev only changes will bring back the masses, community comfortability and happiness is 90% of success in a roleplay server, scripts contribute 10% however there is definitely a need for improvement on dev side aswell, as also stated players that have been in the server for 6+ years often say that there is nothing wrong with crim, LEO balances, yet those same players have not logged into a crim character for 3 years and do not experience the recent experiences. I would say someone who has been on the server for a year but logs in everyday for hours has more experience, then someone who has been on the server for 5 years but logs in once every two weeks for an hour, on the ground time constitutes for join date, just my personal experience, recently logging in everyday you type /fmembers and if lucky you see 4 members active, ask why your faction of 25-30 people dont log in every single time its likely gonna be the same response,  "I dont feel like logging in after a month,  2 mins in GND pulls you over, "step out of the vehicle ,pending investigation (like what? I have not even logged in for a month)" they find a gun in your car that,  you even forgot about because you have not logged in for over a month, jail time log out for another month, rinse and repeat

[Bala]

Something to think about as well.

For those people that go around talking about how the server is dead, the server isn't dead as long as people have the attitudes to want to make it better and discuss ways in which to do so.

It's only when people STOP talking about the issues that we should truly worry.

[Chazaa]

1 hour ago, DaMasterSplinter said:

Yoo Marksy, you’re a legend.
Some of the topics you mentioned have been bugging me for a while, but because of what I’ve been through in the past, I never really wanted to write something like this.

I want to thank everyone for being respectful so far, and I genuinely hope we can work together to make the server even better.

I was on Crim most of the time but recently switched to  LEO after my group of friends left the server.

I’m not sure how many people will actually read this, but whenever I play on the server, I always remind myself that there’s another person just like me behind that screen. No matter which character I’m playing  whether it’s a troll or an LEO I always try to make sure I don’t ruin someone else’s experience.

Something that wasn’t mentioned in the first post (but Bala pointed out) is that the community makes the server, not the scripts or the rules.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen toxicity being spread around and that’s from both sides, LEO and Crim.
In many situations, I just step back because what I see feels unnecessary and childish.

I understand that some people get their dopamine spikes from the game the validation, the power, the wins  but a community built on that mindset can’t last long.
I’ve seen too many times where gangs fight or kidnap each other and it turns into a back-and-forth of trash talk, trying to see who can push it further before someone breaks a rule.

Even on the LEO side, it happens too often. You catch or injure a player, and instead of keeping it in-character, people start trash-talking  calling them bad or washed  just because they won or made the other person crash.

Examples:

• An LEO dancing and doing a “take the L” after helping injure two gang members.

• Or higher-ups showing up after a chase just to mock a player who crashed, even if that person is struggling mentally or socially.

If we want change, it really has to start with our community’s behavior.
Everyone wants their own fun, but sometimes that means stepping back and letting others have theirs too.

These examples are baffling.

If you're referencing a 1 second L dance as your example then we really don't have much to worry about do we. That's more of a snowflake issue than anything. It was me that did the L dance (IC action) and immediately cancelled it as I felt I wasn't being realistic as a cop in that moment, that's a small lapse of judgement in the moment. Then the second point about mocking someone who crashed, there needs to be context because what if the evading individual has done 5 car swaps in 240 vehicles, just killed cops or attempted an ambush. Of course you're going to be met with verbal backlash when you get caught. Furthermore, a big part of this server is understanding the difference between IC and OOC, if someone mocks you OOCly then fair enough report it, but how are players interacting with you for the first time to know how much you're struggling mentally or socially?

A real example of something that needs addressing (from a long term LEO main) would be the ability for us in LEO factions to /delcruiser and spawn one instantly to re-join a pursuit whilst the evading vehicle doesn't get the luxury of refueling or getting a vehicle repair. I've started to break off in a high speed vehicle when I need a repair and actually go to Benny's to give the evading player a chance to escape or go and refuel at a gas station instead of just spawning a new one in seconds.

Yes, it is the community that needs to change and LEO's will do their very best, we already are. Alternatively, criminal characters need to step up and not resort to /b at every half opportunity.

[CoolDudeChillin]

One of my favorite things about GTA and the way the server used to be that i could listen to music and drive around with my friends. Now I have to preload a song 2 weeks in advance, and it might work. 

[WindEZ]

Seems like many people are complaining that FM 2.0 was a failure, and yes, I'll call it a failure all day long.

FM 1.0 was a failure as well. Since 2020, when the Staff decided to OOC interact in gang relations and control them, everything has gone downhill.

Let everyone have the same imports, stop making threads with 1,00 rules that don't benefit anyone. Start taking accountability instead of blaming Leo left and right.

Remember yourself it's a game, not a forum simulator where you have to post 3,000 posts with your homies, fake a story, then, like Chase said, go to an event and afk for 2 hours in an anim dance to ''show face'' and show FM how well behaved your hood gang is.

Everyone who has the brain cell to create a gang, and the social power to keep 5-10 people around, should be able to import whatever they feel like. You nerfed the guns anyway; no one cares anymore.

And to make it easier, bullet points:

• Act on the rule you set 3 years ago, where PETTY reports are being denied and the reporting party punished. You win / you lose, you still report, get a grip.
• Stop ooc interactions from admins to gangs, let them play the game as they seem fit, as long as they respect the base rules of the server. Stop telling people to not beef another gang just because they cried they're losing too much. Actions have consequences
• Allow more people to get an F4 just to chat with their friends, after a 1 month of the gang or so, let them have imports, is not that deep.
• Do something about the lab system ''random'' sure , its activated by admins lmao , you even activate 10 to give people chance to hide from cops, not the same ones over and over again. A smaller gang can hold a smaller lab while big gangs can fight as much as they want into a bigger one

 

 

[TheOwl]

 

About fucking time someone said it.

[CalvinKlein]

W post, I always been preaching that development isn't the main issue, but rather the points Marksy made, and what @WindEZ said about Fm 1.0 and 2.0 failing, since 2020.